Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC)- Various Positions

Deadline to Apply: May 13, 2022

York University invites applications from outstanding researchers for appointment of up to three Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) in the following areas of strategic focus: Black Urbanism, Visual Cognitive Neuroscience, and Cosmochemical Planetary Exploration. The CERC program is designed to recruit the world’s top researchers to Canada and is the country’s most prestigious federally funded research chair program.

Appointments to a Canada Excellence Research Chair are for 8 years and are accompanied by an award of either $500,000 or $1 million per year over the term of the chair. Successful candidates will be appointed to a full-time tenure-stream faculty position at the rank of Associate or Full Professor. All CERC appointments are subject to review and approval by the CERC Secretariat, expected in Spring 2023. The successful candidate will then have up to 12 months to take up the award and the duties of the position. Further information about the Canada Excellence Research Chair program is available at cerc.gc.ca.

Candidates who are unsuccessful in a CERC application may be considered as a nominee for a Canada Research Chair in the same research area at either the Tier 1 or Tier 2 level, depending on their career stage. Applicants who are more than 10 years from their highest degree (and where career breaks exist, including maternity leave, extended sick leave, clinical training, etc.) may have their eligibility for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process.

Candidates shall hold a PhD within their discipline, have a demonstrated record of excellence in research and training, be recognized leaders in their field with significant international impact, and demonstrate a superior track record of external research funding. They should propose an innovative, high-quality program of research that includes supervision of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and demonstrate evidence of engagement and leadership in Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity initiatives. They will also teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels and will be involved in graduate supervision. The successful candidates will be suitable for prompt appointment to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and provide service to the University. The appointments will be made to the most appropriate Department and/or Faculty depending on the expertise and qualifications of the successful candidates.

Areas of Strategic Focus

Black Urbanism: The successful candidate will be a leading scholar in the Black experience in cities and suburbs, which might include issues of: Black exclusion in relation to employment, education, transportation or housing; anti-Black racism; or Black urban futures, including Afrofuturism. Priority will be given to applicants with demonstrated leadership in public scholarship, innovative pedagogy, and/or community-based collaboration.

Visual Cognitive Neuroscience: The successful candidate will be a leading scholar in human visual cognitive neuroscience with research expertise in one or more of the following areas: visual attention, memory, navigation, computational neuroscience, or other visual processes. Their research program will employ a range of modern tools and techniques such as psychophysics, neuroimaging, computational modelling, and neurostimulation in human participants , and contribute to the Centre for Vision Research (CVR) and York’s Canada First Research Excellence Fund, Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA).

Cosmochemical Planetary Exploration: The successful candidate will be a leading scholar in Cosmochemistry with experience developing and leading planetary space missions and with deep knowledge of cosmochemical techniques, instrumentation, space mission architectures and new mission opportunities. They will support space missions under the Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science (CRESS) and expand the scope of CRESS science-driven space mission opportunities.

Application Process

Applicants should submit a package of materials as follows: a signed letter of application expressing interest in being nominated for a Canada Excellence Research Chair specifying the strategic area and outlining professional experience and research interests; an up-to-date curriculum vitae; a statement of contributions to research in their area; and three sample research publications. Three letters of reference will be solicited for applicants invited for an interview.

All materials should be submitted by email to cerc@yorku.ca. The deadline for applications is May 13, 2022.

Successful candidates will be required to work with the Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation to prepare the full nomination package for submission to the Canada Excellence Research Chairs Secretariat in Fall 2022.

CERC Eligibility

Candidates should have an outstanding track record of research contributions in their field and be at a career stage consistent with the rank of Full Professor at the time of appointment or within two years of nomination.  Alternatively, if from outside the academic sector, nominees must possess the necessary qualifications to be appointed at these levels. In addition to demonstrated leadership and a track record of attracting and mentoring a diverse group of students and research personnel, candidates should have a demonstrated ability to establish and maintain an equitable and inclusive research environment.  

The CERC program imposes no restrictions on nominees with regard to nationality or country of residence. Researchers who hold a full-time academic appointment at a Canadian institution are eligible; should they be nominated the University’s nomination package will be required to demonstrate the net benefit to Canada of moving the researcher from one Canadian institution to another. Researchers cannot be nominated by the institution at which they currently hold their appointment.

Commitment to Equity

York acknowledges the potential impact that career interruptions (e.g., maternity leave, leave due to illness, COVID-19 impacts, etc.) can have on a candidate’s record of research achievement. Applicants are encouraged to explain in their application package the impact that career interruptions may have had on their record of research achievement; this will be taken into careful consideration during the assessment process.

York University has a policy on Accommodation in Employment for Persons with Disabilities and is committed to working towards a barrier-free workplace and to expanding the accessibility of the workplace to persons with disabilities. Candidates who require accommodation during the selection process are invited to contact Emma Yuen, Senior HR Officer, VPRI at emmay@yorku.ca.

York University is an Affirmative Action (AA) employer and strongly values diversity, including gender and sexual diversity, within its community. Applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds, including members of racialized minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, women, and individuals from the LGBTQ2+ community, are particularly encouraged. The AA Program, which applies to women, members of visible minorities (racialized groups), Aboriginal (Indigenous) people and persons with disabilities, can be found at www.yorku.ca/acadjobs or by calling the AA line at 416-736- 5713. Applicants wishing to self-identify as part of York University’s Affirmative Action program can do so by downloading, completing and submitting the form found at https://acadjobs.info.yorku.ca/affirmative-action/self-identification-form/.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens, permanent residents and Indigenous peoples in Canada will be given priority. No application will be considered without a completed mandatory Work Status Declaration form which can be found at http://acadjobs.info.yorku.ca/affirmative-action/work-authorization-form.

All York University positions are subject to budgetary approval.